Fiveable
Fiveable

or

Log in

Find what you need to study


Light

Find what you need to study

6.2 Social Development in Childhood

10 min readjanuary 6, 2023

Ashley Rossi

Ashley Rossi

Dalia Savy

Dalia Savy

Ashley Rossi

Ashley Rossi

Dalia Savy

Dalia Savy

Infants form even before they are born. As described in key concept 6.1, babies show a preference for their mother’s voice and native language. These attachment bonds, which begin before birth and strengthen after birth, are crucial to the infant’s survival. Many psychologists have studied the ways in which children form and how these influence development. 

Body Contact & Harry Harlow

The earliest form of attachment, once the child is born, comes from bodily contact with the mother. Scientists have long documented the benefits of skin-to-skin contact 🥰. Not only can skin-to-skin contact help soothe the child and enhance communication, but it can (amazingly) also help the infant stabilize body temperature and even improve the function of their heart and lungs.

But what necessitates this early form of bonding? During the 1950s, conducted his groundbreaking research in the area of and

Harlow and his wife Margaret bred 🐒 for their research in learning. To prevent the spread of infection, they began separating young monkeys from their mothers early on. These young monkeys were typically put in a sterile cage with a baby blanket for warmth. Interestingly, Harlow noticed that when the blanket was removed to be laundered, the young monkeys became distressed.

This observation contradicted the theory that attachment stems from the need for nourishment. The blanket clearly offered no food or physical nourishment to the baby monkey, but they became attached to it nonetheless. Why was this? According to Harlow, this was because of the the blanket provided.

To test this theory, an astoundingly unethical experiment was designed. Be warned, the following experiment contains elements of animal cruelty. It was later found to be unethical.

Harlow created two types of artificial mothers: one was a bare wire cylinder with a wooden head and an attached bottle for feeding (yes, it was as terrifying it sounds). The other “mother” was wrapped in terry cloth and provided no nourishment. If, in fact, attachment bonds form from the infant’s need for nourishment, then the young monkeys should prefer the wire mother with the attached bottle.

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-md9igIZRuQcf.jpg?alt=media&token=8f336c10-9230-49c3-a790-0945a6d1c9a7

Image Courtesy of Verywell Mind.

The results suggested otherwise. Young presented with both mothers overwhelmingly preferred the comfort of the terry cloth one over the wire one, despite the fact that the cloth mother provided no food. 

When the babies became stressed, they would cling to the cloth mother for comfort. When exploring, they would use the cloth mother as a secure base, returning to her every so often after venturing out. 

The experiments became even more unethical. Harlow began to sequester young monkeys for months or years at a time, with no source of attachment or interaction—only food and drink. The results were troubling.

These neglected monkeys became completely catatonic and indifferent toward their environment. In adulthood, they could not properly bond or relate with other monkeys. Female monkeys could not get pregnant, since they had no interest in social interaction. Harlow had to artificially inseminate these females in order for them to reproduce. 

Sadly, Harlow observed that these neglected female monkeys completely ignored their babies and neglected to feed them. In some cases, the mothers even injured or killed their babies. The implication was clear: these neglected mothers could not properly love or bond with their babies

Harlow’s studies, as horrifying as they were, support the idea that attachment bonds stem from much more than a need for nourishment. Security, safety, comfort, and affection play fundamental roles in the attachments children form with their caregivers. The behavior of the young monkeys suggested that a need for security and safety takes precedence even over the basic need for nourishment. 

More so, Harlow demonstrated that these early secure social bonds are crucial for healthy development later on. Early relationships play a key role in later adult behavior. Children who do not receive proper affection or attention may struggle to create secure relationships later in life. 

Konrad Lorenz and Familiarity

In addition to contact, is also a key element in attachment. studied a phenomenon known as , which is the rigid process by which some animals form strong and nearly immediate attachments early in life. He noted that there appeared to be a in which this attachment was formed.

Lorenz studied the that took place amongst gosling ducks🐤. Since the first thing most hatchlings see is their mother, it would make sense that these ducklings naturally imprinted the female duck. However, Lorenz thought, what if the first thing they saw was not a duck at all? What if it was a particular Austrian ethologist?

Lorenz discovered that the ducks imprinted upon him, just as they would their own mothers. They followed him everywhere he went and, sure enough, this attachment was difficult to reverse. 

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2Fhehe.gif?alt=media&token=76996480-67b4-47bd-86b7-03621f592442

Image Courtesy of Giphy.

Children, unlike ducklings, do not imprint. They do, however, display a preference for . Mere exposure to things fosters fondness, and children absolutely display an affinity toward things that are familiar with (whether that be eating the same food every day, repeatedly watching the same TV shows, or preferring the comfort of certain people). 

Attachment Styles and Ainsworth

These ideas about attachment also raise other questions. We know children become attached, but what are the various ways in which attachments can form, and what accounts for differences in the attachment styles of different children? Developmental psychologist was interested in this idea. 

To explore different attachment styles, she developed the “strange situation” experiment in the 1970s. First, she observed mothers and their infants at home for six months in order to observe their relationships. Later, when the babies reached one year of age, she observed them in a strange situation (most typically a playroom within the laboratory). 

Just like Harlow observed, infants with sensitive and responsive mothers demonstrated . With their mother’s presence, they could confidently and comfortably explore the new playroom. However, when the mother left, they became distressed. Upon her return, they went to her seeking comfort. About 60% of children, according to Ainsworth, demonstrated this .

Ainsworth also identified styles of . Some infants would cling to their mothers, refusing to explore their new surroundings. When the mother left and returned, they would either cry loudly and remain upset or appear indifferent to her return. 

These insecure styles of attachment were the result of unresponsive or insensitive mothers. Furthermore, these insecure styles of attachment appear to be positively correlated with anxiety or difficulty forming trust in relationships later in life. 

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-ApkTxKMBeUfI.jpg?alt=media&token=69939850-7328-4e1a-95e5-ff93e5ba5376

Image Courtesy of @silvykhoucasian

However, returning to the nature vs. nurture debate, there is the question of , or a person’s seemingly stable pattern of emotional reactivity. Why do infants, even those born to the same parents, seemingly display varying temperaments regardless of

Supporting this idea, physiological differences appear to coincide with temperamental differences. In short, there appears to be a genetic link between and biology (patterns of the nervous system, neurotransmitter levels, etc.). Like most things in psychology, our personalities and attachment styles appear to rely on the interaction between both nature and nurture. 

Erik Erikson also focused on attachment and security through his psychosocial stages. According to Erikson, there are eight phases of psychosocial development, which last from birth until death. In the early stages of development, children learn to develop basic trust and autonomy through secure and nurturing attachments. 

👉For a complete outline of Erikson’s eight stages, see key concept 6.5.

Parenting Styles and Baumrind

Another social learning theorist, , developed key theories in the area of . Parenting is no easy feat, and parents’ approaches to rearing a child tend to vary greatly. Some parents are strict with incredibly high standards, others tend to be permissive and lax, while others are known as “helicopter 🚁 parents” who have a tendency to hover over their children closely. Which style is best? 

Baumrind and her associates at UC Berkeley identified three (which were later expanded to four): 

  1. 👑 Authoritarian parents tend to be extremely strict and demanding, and expect blind obedience. These parents follow an almost militaristic approach to discipline and a “Why? Because I said so!” expectation of obedience.

  2. 💎 also hold rules and expectations, and expect obedience, but do so in a more responsive way. Rules are clear and the reasoning for these rules is explained to the child. Communication is encouraged and parents are supportive of their children. 

  3. 🐓 submit to their children’s desires easily. They do not hold their children to high expectations and place very few demands on their children. Children are rarely punished, even when they misbehave. 

It may be worth noting that later, the category of permissive parenting was later further divided. The further distinction identified permissive parenting (or ) and

In both situations, children face low expectations and few behavioral consequences. However, indulgent parents tend to give in to their child’s every whim, while neglectful parents tend to ignore their child’s behavior or treat it with indifference.

Baumrind concluded that children with grow up to be the most well-adjusted. As noted earlier, these parents develop rules and expectations, but are open about their reasoning for such. (For example, “You can’t eat cookies before dinner because you will spoil your appetite.”) They are open with their children and encourage communication and transparency. These children show the highest level of self-esteem and self-reliance. They also display social competence and higher academic achievement. 

Authoritarian parenting is associated with lower academic performance and lower levels of self-esteem. Those with overly tend to be impulsive, egocentric, and may have problems in later relationships. 

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-5Eka8qLa7znR.jpg?alt=media&token=2c10fea9-97f6-44ec-becc-cb76e11614e1

Image Courtesy of Parenting for Brain.

Sigmund Freud and Psychosexual Development

Within the AP Psychology curriculum, most of the information regarding Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory falls within the unit of personality. However, Freud did have a few extremely interesting ideas about development in childhood.

According to Freud’s psychosexual theory of development, infants are born with sexual and aggressive tendencies (yeah, weird) and move through a series of fixed stages as they develop. 

In each stage, pleasure is focused in a particular erogenous zone and development depends on the infant’s ability to resolve conflict related to that area. The stages are known as the , , (in which the occurs), , and .

Freud believed that infants may become developmentally fixated (psychologically stuck) if they are unable to resolve the conflict successfully or if conflict resolution is too traumatic. These fixations could result in a variety of developmental issues related to personality.

While Freud’s theories have been widely criticized for being overly subjective and largely disregarding the social influence of peers and cognitive factors in development, his contributions are still of great importance. 

Modern-day psychologists still believe that childhood trauma (even if the individual is not consciously aware of the trauma) can stunt development in a multitude of ways. As seen through the theories previously described, traumatic experiences can follow us well into adulthood. 

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-oJku98Z6pyDV.png?alt=media&token=b5749ab6-d583-4112-a29d-3d9e34bfc0eb

Image Courtesy of The Psychology Notes Headquarters

Social Learning and Albert Bandura

Albert Bandura is known for his influential work with social learning theory. In 1961, Bandura’s demonstrated how children learn behavior from modeling that of adults. 

In this experiment, Bandura placed children into one of three conditions. In all of the experimental conditions, children watched an adult interact with a large doll (a Bobo Doll). 

  1. In the first group, children watched as the adult behaved aggressively toward the doll: throwing the doll, shouting at it, and even using a hammer in some cases. 

  2. In the other experimental group, children were exposed to an adult who treated the doll more kindly: playing nicely or just ignoring it altogether. 

  3. In the control group, children were exposed to no adult model. 

Afterward, the children were subjected to mild aggression arousal—or in other words, they were put in a situation bound to tick them off. Scientists took the children to a separate room with a lot of fancy toys. The children were told that these were the scientist’s “best toys” and that they would be reserved for other children.

So, now that these kids are nice and peeved, what will happen?  Bandura found, as you may have guessed, that children who had watched the more violent adults were far more likely to imitate aggressive behaviors. The evidence is clear: children learn through observation and have a strong tendency to model the behavior they see in adults. Poor Bobo.

Key Terms to Review (33)

Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory

: Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory suggests that people learn from one another via observation, imitation, and modeling. The theory emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others.

Anal Stage

: The anal stage is Freud's second psychosexual developmental phase (from 18 months to three years) where pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control can lead to fixation on orderliness or messiness.

Attachment Theory

: Attachment theory is a psychological model that describes the long-term interpersonal relationships between humans. It suggests that children form an emotional bond with caregivers due to their care and responsiveness.

Authoritarian Parents

: These are parents who impose strict rules, expect absolute obedience from their children, and often use punishment to enforce discipline.

Authoritative Parents

: These are parents who set clear boundaries but also encourage independence. They use reasoning and allow open dialogue about rules and discipline.

Bobo Doll Experiment

: The Bobo doll experiment was conducted by Albert Bandura in 1961 and 1963 to study patterns of behavior associated with aggression. Children observed an adult acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll; later on, it was found that these children were more likely to act out similar aggressive actions.

Body Contact

: Body contact refers to physical touch or closeness between two individuals. It's considered essential in forming strong emotional bonds and attachments.

Contact Comfort

: Contact comfort refers to the physical and emotional comfort that an infant receives from being in physical contact with its mother or primary caregiver.

Critical Period

: In psychology, the critical period refers to a specific time during development when an organism is most sensitive to environmental influences or stimuli. During this time, certain behaviors and abilities can be learned more easily than at other times.

Developmental Fixation

: Developmental fixation is a concept in psychoanalytic theory where an individual remains stuck, or "fixated," at a particular stage of their emotional or sexual development due to unresolved conflicts or traumas.

Diana Baumrind

: Diana Baumrind was a developmental psychologist known for her research on parenting styles and their impact on children.

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages

: This is a theory proposed by psychologist Erik Erikson that suggests human development occurs in eight distinct, predetermined stages from infancy to late adulthood. Each stage presents a crisis or conflict which needs to be resolved for the individual to develop healthily.

Familiarity

: Familiarity refers to the simple awareness of something due to previous exposure or experience. It's a basic psychological concept that influences our recognition, memory, and decision-making processes.

Genital Stage

: The final stage of Freud's psychosexual development where individuals develop a strong sexual interest in the opposite sex.

Harry Harlow

: Harry Harlow was an American psychologist best known for his maternal-separation experiments on rhesus monkeys which demonstrated the importance of care-giving and companionship in social development and cognitive function.

Imprinting

: Imprinting is a type of learning where an animal forms strong attachments during an early-life critical period.

Indulgent Parenting

: This is a parenting style characterized by low demands with high responsiveness. Indulgent parents tend to be very involved, but they set few rules and boundaries.

Insecure Attachment

: A type of emotional bond where children do not trust their caregivers consistently and may show various degrees of resistance or avoidance towards them.

Konrad Lorenz

: Konrad Lorenz was an Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his study on imprinting behavior in animals.

Latent Stage

: The fourth stage in Freud's psychosexual stages of development where sexual interests are suppressed while children focus primarily on activities related to schoolwork and same-sex friendships.

Mary Ainsworth

: Mary Ainsworth was a developmental psychologist known for her work in early emotional attachment with "The Strange Situation" methodology.

Neglectful Parenting

: Also known as uninvolved or dismissive parenting, this is a harmful style of parenting that involves a lack of responsiveness to a child's needs. These parents ignore their children, do not respond to their needs, and generally neglect their role as parents.

Oedipus Complex

: A theory proposed by Sigmund Freud that suggests a child's feelings of desire for their opposite-sex parent and jealousy and rivalry with their same-sex parent.

Oral Stage

: The oral stage is the first of Freud's psychosexual stages, occurring from birth to 18 months. During this stage, an infant's pleasure centers are in the mouth, leading to behaviors such as sucking and biting.

Parenting Styles

: These are different approaches to raising children that are typically categorized into four main types: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful.

Permissive Parents

: These are parents who provide few guidelines or rules and give children much freedom. They tend not to enforce discipline regularly and often behave more like friends than parental figures.

Phallic Stage

: The phallic stage is the third of Freud's psychosexual stages (from 3 to 6 years), during which pleasure focuses on the genitals. This is also when children become aware of their gender identity.

Rhesus Monkeys

: Rhesus monkeys are primates often used in psychological studies due to their close genetic relationship with humans. They have been instrumental in understanding social behavior, learning processes, and other aspects of psychology.

Secure Attachment

: This is a type of emotional bond in which a child feels safe, protected, and comfortable with a caregiver. The child uses the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore their environment.

Sigmund Freud's Psychosexual Development Theory

: This is a theory proposed by Sigmund Freud that suggests children move through five stages of development related to their sexuality: the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages.

Social Attachments

: Social attachments refer to the emotional bond that forms between individuals, often between a child and caregiver. This bond is crucial for the child's psychological development.

Strange Situation Experiment

: The Strange Situation Experiment is a procedure devised by Mary Ainsworth to observe attachment relationships between a caregiver and child. It's designed to observe the child's response to separation from and reunion with the caregiver in a controlled but play-like setting.

Temperament

: The innate or biologically based individual differences in physical, emotional, and attentional reactivity and self-regulation.

6.2 Social Development in Childhood

10 min readjanuary 6, 2023

Ashley Rossi

Ashley Rossi

Dalia Savy

Dalia Savy

Ashley Rossi

Ashley Rossi

Dalia Savy

Dalia Savy

Infants form even before they are born. As described in key concept 6.1, babies show a preference for their mother’s voice and native language. These attachment bonds, which begin before birth and strengthen after birth, are crucial to the infant’s survival. Many psychologists have studied the ways in which children form and how these influence development. 

Body Contact & Harry Harlow

The earliest form of attachment, once the child is born, comes from bodily contact with the mother. Scientists have long documented the benefits of skin-to-skin contact 🥰. Not only can skin-to-skin contact help soothe the child and enhance communication, but it can (amazingly) also help the infant stabilize body temperature and even improve the function of their heart and lungs.

But what necessitates this early form of bonding? During the 1950s, conducted his groundbreaking research in the area of and

Harlow and his wife Margaret bred 🐒 for their research in learning. To prevent the spread of infection, they began separating young monkeys from their mothers early on. These young monkeys were typically put in a sterile cage with a baby blanket for warmth. Interestingly, Harlow noticed that when the blanket was removed to be laundered, the young monkeys became distressed.

This observation contradicted the theory that attachment stems from the need for nourishment. The blanket clearly offered no food or physical nourishment to the baby monkey, but they became attached to it nonetheless. Why was this? According to Harlow, this was because of the the blanket provided.

To test this theory, an astoundingly unethical experiment was designed. Be warned, the following experiment contains elements of animal cruelty. It was later found to be unethical.

Harlow created two types of artificial mothers: one was a bare wire cylinder with a wooden head and an attached bottle for feeding (yes, it was as terrifying it sounds). The other “mother” was wrapped in terry cloth and provided no nourishment. If, in fact, attachment bonds form from the infant’s need for nourishment, then the young monkeys should prefer the wire mother with the attached bottle.

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-md9igIZRuQcf.jpg?alt=media&token=8f336c10-9230-49c3-a790-0945a6d1c9a7

Image Courtesy of Verywell Mind.

The results suggested otherwise. Young presented with both mothers overwhelmingly preferred the comfort of the terry cloth one over the wire one, despite the fact that the cloth mother provided no food. 

When the babies became stressed, they would cling to the cloth mother for comfort. When exploring, they would use the cloth mother as a secure base, returning to her every so often after venturing out. 

The experiments became even more unethical. Harlow began to sequester young monkeys for months or years at a time, with no source of attachment or interaction—only food and drink. The results were troubling.

These neglected monkeys became completely catatonic and indifferent toward their environment. In adulthood, they could not properly bond or relate with other monkeys. Female monkeys could not get pregnant, since they had no interest in social interaction. Harlow had to artificially inseminate these females in order for them to reproduce. 

Sadly, Harlow observed that these neglected female monkeys completely ignored their babies and neglected to feed them. In some cases, the mothers even injured or killed their babies. The implication was clear: these neglected mothers could not properly love or bond with their babies

Harlow’s studies, as horrifying as they were, support the idea that attachment bonds stem from much more than a need for nourishment. Security, safety, comfort, and affection play fundamental roles in the attachments children form with their caregivers. The behavior of the young monkeys suggested that a need for security and safety takes precedence even over the basic need for nourishment. 

More so, Harlow demonstrated that these early secure social bonds are crucial for healthy development later on. Early relationships play a key role in later adult behavior. Children who do not receive proper affection or attention may struggle to create secure relationships later in life. 

Konrad Lorenz and Familiarity

In addition to contact, is also a key element in attachment. studied a phenomenon known as , which is the rigid process by which some animals form strong and nearly immediate attachments early in life. He noted that there appeared to be a in which this attachment was formed.

Lorenz studied the that took place amongst gosling ducks🐤. Since the first thing most hatchlings see is their mother, it would make sense that these ducklings naturally imprinted the female duck. However, Lorenz thought, what if the first thing they saw was not a duck at all? What if it was a particular Austrian ethologist?

Lorenz discovered that the ducks imprinted upon him, just as they would their own mothers. They followed him everywhere he went and, sure enough, this attachment was difficult to reverse. 

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2Fhehe.gif?alt=media&token=76996480-67b4-47bd-86b7-03621f592442

Image Courtesy of Giphy.

Children, unlike ducklings, do not imprint. They do, however, display a preference for . Mere exposure to things fosters fondness, and children absolutely display an affinity toward things that are familiar with (whether that be eating the same food every day, repeatedly watching the same TV shows, or preferring the comfort of certain people). 

Attachment Styles and Ainsworth

These ideas about attachment also raise other questions. We know children become attached, but what are the various ways in which attachments can form, and what accounts for differences in the attachment styles of different children? Developmental psychologist was interested in this idea. 

To explore different attachment styles, she developed the “strange situation” experiment in the 1970s. First, she observed mothers and their infants at home for six months in order to observe their relationships. Later, when the babies reached one year of age, she observed them in a strange situation (most typically a playroom within the laboratory). 

Just like Harlow observed, infants with sensitive and responsive mothers demonstrated . With their mother’s presence, they could confidently and comfortably explore the new playroom. However, when the mother left, they became distressed. Upon her return, they went to her seeking comfort. About 60% of children, according to Ainsworth, demonstrated this .

Ainsworth also identified styles of . Some infants would cling to their mothers, refusing to explore their new surroundings. When the mother left and returned, they would either cry loudly and remain upset or appear indifferent to her return. 

These insecure styles of attachment were the result of unresponsive or insensitive mothers. Furthermore, these insecure styles of attachment appear to be positively correlated with anxiety or difficulty forming trust in relationships later in life. 

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-ApkTxKMBeUfI.jpg?alt=media&token=69939850-7328-4e1a-95e5-ff93e5ba5376

Image Courtesy of @silvykhoucasian

However, returning to the nature vs. nurture debate, there is the question of , or a person’s seemingly stable pattern of emotional reactivity. Why do infants, even those born to the same parents, seemingly display varying temperaments regardless of

Supporting this idea, physiological differences appear to coincide with temperamental differences. In short, there appears to be a genetic link between and biology (patterns of the nervous system, neurotransmitter levels, etc.). Like most things in psychology, our personalities and attachment styles appear to rely on the interaction between both nature and nurture. 

Erik Erikson also focused on attachment and security through his psychosocial stages. According to Erikson, there are eight phases of psychosocial development, which last from birth until death. In the early stages of development, children learn to develop basic trust and autonomy through secure and nurturing attachments. 

👉For a complete outline of Erikson’s eight stages, see key concept 6.5.

Parenting Styles and Baumrind

Another social learning theorist, , developed key theories in the area of . Parenting is no easy feat, and parents’ approaches to rearing a child tend to vary greatly. Some parents are strict with incredibly high standards, others tend to be permissive and lax, while others are known as “helicopter 🚁 parents” who have a tendency to hover over their children closely. Which style is best? 

Baumrind and her associates at UC Berkeley identified three (which were later expanded to four): 

  1. 👑 Authoritarian parents tend to be extremely strict and demanding, and expect blind obedience. These parents follow an almost militaristic approach to discipline and a “Why? Because I said so!” expectation of obedience.

  2. 💎 also hold rules and expectations, and expect obedience, but do so in a more responsive way. Rules are clear and the reasoning for these rules is explained to the child. Communication is encouraged and parents are supportive of their children. 

  3. 🐓 submit to their children’s desires easily. They do not hold their children to high expectations and place very few demands on their children. Children are rarely punished, even when they misbehave. 

It may be worth noting that later, the category of permissive parenting was later further divided. The further distinction identified permissive parenting (or ) and

In both situations, children face low expectations and few behavioral consequences. However, indulgent parents tend to give in to their child’s every whim, while neglectful parents tend to ignore their child’s behavior or treat it with indifference.

Baumrind concluded that children with grow up to be the most well-adjusted. As noted earlier, these parents develop rules and expectations, but are open about their reasoning for such. (For example, “You can’t eat cookies before dinner because you will spoil your appetite.”) They are open with their children and encourage communication and transparency. These children show the highest level of self-esteem and self-reliance. They also display social competence and higher academic achievement. 

Authoritarian parenting is associated with lower academic performance and lower levels of self-esteem. Those with overly tend to be impulsive, egocentric, and may have problems in later relationships. 

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-5Eka8qLa7znR.jpg?alt=media&token=2c10fea9-97f6-44ec-becc-cb76e11614e1

Image Courtesy of Parenting for Brain.

Sigmund Freud and Psychosexual Development

Within the AP Psychology curriculum, most of the information regarding Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory falls within the unit of personality. However, Freud did have a few extremely interesting ideas about development in childhood.

According to Freud’s psychosexual theory of development, infants are born with sexual and aggressive tendencies (yeah, weird) and move through a series of fixed stages as they develop. 

In each stage, pleasure is focused in a particular erogenous zone and development depends on the infant’s ability to resolve conflict related to that area. The stages are known as the , , (in which the occurs), , and .

Freud believed that infants may become developmentally fixated (psychologically stuck) if they are unable to resolve the conflict successfully or if conflict resolution is too traumatic. These fixations could result in a variety of developmental issues related to personality.

While Freud’s theories have been widely criticized for being overly subjective and largely disregarding the social influence of peers and cognitive factors in development, his contributions are still of great importance. 

Modern-day psychologists still believe that childhood trauma (even if the individual is not consciously aware of the trauma) can stunt development in a multitude of ways. As seen through the theories previously described, traumatic experiences can follow us well into adulthood. 

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-oJku98Z6pyDV.png?alt=media&token=b5749ab6-d583-4112-a29d-3d9e34bfc0eb

Image Courtesy of The Psychology Notes Headquarters

Social Learning and Albert Bandura

Albert Bandura is known for his influential work with social learning theory. In 1961, Bandura’s demonstrated how children learn behavior from modeling that of adults. 

In this experiment, Bandura placed children into one of three conditions. In all of the experimental conditions, children watched an adult interact with a large doll (a Bobo Doll). 

  1. In the first group, children watched as the adult behaved aggressively toward the doll: throwing the doll, shouting at it, and even using a hammer in some cases. 

  2. In the other experimental group, children were exposed to an adult who treated the doll more kindly: playing nicely or just ignoring it altogether. 

  3. In the control group, children were exposed to no adult model. 

Afterward, the children were subjected to mild aggression arousal—or in other words, they were put in a situation bound to tick them off. Scientists took the children to a separate room with a lot of fancy toys. The children were told that these were the scientist’s “best toys” and that they would be reserved for other children.

So, now that these kids are nice and peeved, what will happen?  Bandura found, as you may have guessed, that children who had watched the more violent adults were far more likely to imitate aggressive behaviors. The evidence is clear: children learn through observation and have a strong tendency to model the behavior they see in adults. Poor Bobo.

Key Terms to Review (33)

Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory

: Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory suggests that people learn from one another via observation, imitation, and modeling. The theory emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others.

Anal Stage

: The anal stage is Freud's second psychosexual developmental phase (from 18 months to three years) where pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control can lead to fixation on orderliness or messiness.

Attachment Theory

: Attachment theory is a psychological model that describes the long-term interpersonal relationships between humans. It suggests that children form an emotional bond with caregivers due to their care and responsiveness.

Authoritarian Parents

: These are parents who impose strict rules, expect absolute obedience from their children, and often use punishment to enforce discipline.

Authoritative Parents

: These are parents who set clear boundaries but also encourage independence. They use reasoning and allow open dialogue about rules and discipline.

Bobo Doll Experiment

: The Bobo doll experiment was conducted by Albert Bandura in 1961 and 1963 to study patterns of behavior associated with aggression. Children observed an adult acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll; later on, it was found that these children were more likely to act out similar aggressive actions.

Body Contact

: Body contact refers to physical touch or closeness between two individuals. It's considered essential in forming strong emotional bonds and attachments.

Contact Comfort

: Contact comfort refers to the physical and emotional comfort that an infant receives from being in physical contact with its mother or primary caregiver.

Critical Period

: In psychology, the critical period refers to a specific time during development when an organism is most sensitive to environmental influences or stimuli. During this time, certain behaviors and abilities can be learned more easily than at other times.

Developmental Fixation

: Developmental fixation is a concept in psychoanalytic theory where an individual remains stuck, or "fixated," at a particular stage of their emotional or sexual development due to unresolved conflicts or traumas.

Diana Baumrind

: Diana Baumrind was a developmental psychologist known for her research on parenting styles and their impact on children.

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages

: This is a theory proposed by psychologist Erik Erikson that suggests human development occurs in eight distinct, predetermined stages from infancy to late adulthood. Each stage presents a crisis or conflict which needs to be resolved for the individual to develop healthily.

Familiarity

: Familiarity refers to the simple awareness of something due to previous exposure or experience. It's a basic psychological concept that influences our recognition, memory, and decision-making processes.

Genital Stage

: The final stage of Freud's psychosexual development where individuals develop a strong sexual interest in the opposite sex.

Harry Harlow

: Harry Harlow was an American psychologist best known for his maternal-separation experiments on rhesus monkeys which demonstrated the importance of care-giving and companionship in social development and cognitive function.

Imprinting

: Imprinting is a type of learning where an animal forms strong attachments during an early-life critical period.

Indulgent Parenting

: This is a parenting style characterized by low demands with high responsiveness. Indulgent parents tend to be very involved, but they set few rules and boundaries.

Insecure Attachment

: A type of emotional bond where children do not trust their caregivers consistently and may show various degrees of resistance or avoidance towards them.

Konrad Lorenz

: Konrad Lorenz was an Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his study on imprinting behavior in animals.

Latent Stage

: The fourth stage in Freud's psychosexual stages of development where sexual interests are suppressed while children focus primarily on activities related to schoolwork and same-sex friendships.

Mary Ainsworth

: Mary Ainsworth was a developmental psychologist known for her work in early emotional attachment with "The Strange Situation" methodology.

Neglectful Parenting

: Also known as uninvolved or dismissive parenting, this is a harmful style of parenting that involves a lack of responsiveness to a child's needs. These parents ignore their children, do not respond to their needs, and generally neglect their role as parents.

Oedipus Complex

: A theory proposed by Sigmund Freud that suggests a child's feelings of desire for their opposite-sex parent and jealousy and rivalry with their same-sex parent.

Oral Stage

: The oral stage is the first of Freud's psychosexual stages, occurring from birth to 18 months. During this stage, an infant's pleasure centers are in the mouth, leading to behaviors such as sucking and biting.

Parenting Styles

: These are different approaches to raising children that are typically categorized into four main types: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful.

Permissive Parents

: These are parents who provide few guidelines or rules and give children much freedom. They tend not to enforce discipline regularly and often behave more like friends than parental figures.

Phallic Stage

: The phallic stage is the third of Freud's psychosexual stages (from 3 to 6 years), during which pleasure focuses on the genitals. This is also when children become aware of their gender identity.

Rhesus Monkeys

: Rhesus monkeys are primates often used in psychological studies due to their close genetic relationship with humans. They have been instrumental in understanding social behavior, learning processes, and other aspects of psychology.

Secure Attachment

: This is a type of emotional bond in which a child feels safe, protected, and comfortable with a caregiver. The child uses the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore their environment.

Sigmund Freud's Psychosexual Development Theory

: This is a theory proposed by Sigmund Freud that suggests children move through five stages of development related to their sexuality: the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages.

Social Attachments

: Social attachments refer to the emotional bond that forms between individuals, often between a child and caregiver. This bond is crucial for the child's psychological development.

Strange Situation Experiment

: The Strange Situation Experiment is a procedure devised by Mary Ainsworth to observe attachment relationships between a caregiver and child. It's designed to observe the child's response to separation from and reunion with the caregiver in a controlled but play-like setting.

Temperament

: The innate or biologically based individual differences in physical, emotional, and attentional reactivity and self-regulation.


© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.

AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.


© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.

AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.